Born in Piacenza, Italy in 1934, Giorgio Armani's eye for design was evident from a very early age. His creativity quickly began attracting attention and he would soon be discovered by fashion houses offering him the title of designer. Emporio Armani, launched in 1981, is a sublabel of Armani's eponymous fashion house, offering a complete range of apparel with a contemporary Italian design language.

Young Giorgio had long been fascinated with Hollywood and its then-dominant beauty ideals, before finding work in the menswear department of a Milanese department store. From there, he was picked up by Nino Cerruti, where his design career began in earnest. He launched his first eponymous collection in 1975 and, throughout the 1980s, the brand made a name for itself through product placement in television series and films, including the cult classic film American Gigolo.